You Can Let Go Now Daddy
by xoxoAmberBabyGirlxoxo
Summary: Based off the song You Can Let Go Now Daddy. When Reba gets a call from her mom she raises to be by her fathers side with memories going crazy in her head.


_Five year old Reba McKinney was outside with her father, J.V, as he was teaching her to learn how to ride a bike. This had been the moment that Reba had waited for ever since she saw the kids riding down the road about a year ago. She was only four then and her mom told her back then that she was too little to learn back then, but after she turned five her mother decided that her father could teach her. _

_ The wind was blowing in Reba's face, and she loved it. She was a country girl at heart, and spending quality time with her father was one of her favorite things to do. "I'm right here, carrot top." Reba heard her father say from behind her. She could feel her father holding onto the backseat of her bike, just like she had asked him too._

_ Now she was wondering if she would be able to do it on her own. "Daddy! Let go!" She knew that her father hesitated, but before she knew it she was going faster than she had before and her father was running right next to her._

_ "That's my girl!" J.V. yelled out as he watched his daughter ride her bike for the first time by herself. He knew that there were going to be plenty of things that he was proud of his daughter for, but for now this was number one. Even if just for a little while she felt free, that was all that he ever wanted for her._

_ Hearing his daughter laughing as she continued to ride her bike made him smile more. "Keep going, Reba!" She heard her father say, and she knew that she had to keep going. After all that was what they both wanted her to do._

Reba couldn't believe the call that she had gotten from her mom, Helen. As she was standing in her kitchen all she could think about was the different times that she shared with her father, and how much that he had meant to her. It was 2008, and Brock and Reba had been working on their relationship. Barbra Jean had decided that the divorce was what she wanted after all, but they believed that it was because she found someone else that made her feel the way she wanted to. Brock and Reba had decided to start dating again, and that was where their relationship stood; dating.

Brock got out of the kitchen chair he was sitting on and walked over to Reba. "Reba, honey, is everything okay?"

Reba saw and heard Brock, but for some reason she was speechless. She couldn't tell Brock what was going on. All she could manage to say was "we need to go back home." With that being said Reba left the kitchen and walked upstairs. She got her suitcase out of her closet and started putting everything that she would need in it.

Brock followed her up into their bedroom, curious to what was going on with Reba. "Sweetie, what is going on?" He asked as he started helping her pack her suitcase, and then started packing his.

"Momma just told me that daddy is in the hospital, and that it's not looking good. We need to get to Oklahoma quick." Reba said as she zipped her suitcase up. She needed to see her dad, to say goodbye to her dad, before it was too late.

Brock had shock on his face when he heard Reba tell him what was going on. He hadn't expected it to be anything like this. "Okay honey. We'll go now."

"What about the kids, Brock?" Reba asked, knowing that she couldn't just get up and leave them without letting them know where she was going.

"I'll call Cheyanne and see if she can watch the kids." Brock said as he walked down the stairs to grab his phone. When Cheyanne answered the phone Brock explained what was going on and that they were about to leave. He explained that they were having to leave right away, and when Cheyanne agreed to be here with the kids he felt a small sense of relief.

He then walked up to their bedroom once he hung up with his oldest daughter and looked at Reba. "Everything is just fine. Cheyanne said that she would watch them, and I texted Kyra and Jake letting them know what was going on."

Reba looked at the man who was standing in front of her. She wanted to feel relieved but she couldn't. Knowing that her daddy was on his deathbed and that there was a change she wouldn't be able to make it there in time to say goodbye destroyed her emotionally.

The two of them walked out of the house and got into Brock's car. Reba felt like she was going to have a panic attack. Moving away from her daddy years ago was hard, but the fact that this may be the last time she would ever see him broke her heart.

_It was 1982 and Reba was about to marry the man of her dreams. She was beyond excited and her beautiful white wedding dress fitted her body perfectly. Her red hair was softly curled and her makeup was soft and natural. _

_ Her daddy walked into the dressing room and Reba smiled softly at him. "You look beautiful, carrot top." J.V. said with a smile as he walked over and wrapped his arms around Reba. Reba enjoyed being embraced in a hug by her father, because she knew that he was going to feel like he was losing her. _

_ "Daddy, you're not losing me. I promise. I'll always be your little girl." Reba said as she could see J.V.'s eyes tearing up. She had rarely ever seen him be emotional. Reba got her toughness not only from her mom but her dad as well. That was just how their way their family was. _

_ J.V. looked at his daughter and smiled at her softly. He knew that he wasn't going to lose his daughter, but the fact of another man being loved just as much as she loved him made him heartbroken. He knew that this day was going to come, but he wasn't sure if he was ready. He had to give his daughter away within minutes, and the fact that she looked this beautiful when he did made him happy._

_ "Reba, I am so very proud of you. He better take care of my little carrot top." J.V. smiled softly as he embraced Reba into another hug. He wasn't ready to let his daughter go. Not now, not ever. His daughter was his princess and he wanted to keep her as his little girl for the rest of his life, even though he knew that was unrealistic._

_ "Daddy, he will be good to me. I know he will." Reba said softly as she smiled. "We need to get ready to walk down the aisle." She knew that J.V. wasn't quite ready to let his daughter go, but she knew that she was ready for this. With a smile J.V. led to the back of the line of the bridal party. _

_ When it was their turn to walk down the aisle, J.V. looked at his daughter. "Are you ready?" He asked her as he saw her nod her head with the biggest smile on her face. Walking down the aisle felt like it was taking forever but when they finally got there Reba was the happiest she had ever been. She had been a daughter to one man since she had been born twenty two years earlier. The other man she was about to marry, was about to be united with him for the rest of her life._

_ The preacher looked at the two men and the woman that was standing in front of him and smiled softly. "Who gives this woman to this man?" _

_ J.V. looked at the preacher, and knowing that Reba was ready for this to happen, he smiled and softly said, "I do." He then looked over at Reba and pressed his lips to Reba's cheek. "I love you." He said softly._

_ Reba's smile got bigger as she blinked back the tears. She couldn't cry, not yet anyways. "I love you too daddy." She said as he pulled himself away to go sit next to Helen, his wife. Reba then turned to Brock and smiled. The wedding ceremony continued and before they knew it they were husband and wife._

It had took a little over six hours for the two of them to get to McAlester, Oklahoma. Reba had to fight back the tears that she knew could come falling down at any point in time. She took a deep breath, knowing that this could easily be the last time she would ever see her dad again.

Brock looked over at Reba and could tell that she was fighting the urge to cry. "Reba, it's okay that you are upset. You don't always have to be strong." Brock said as they drove into the parking lot of the hospital. Reba didn't say anything, but instead when Brock parked the car Reba dashed out of the car and into the hospital, Brock quickly following behind her.

They got to the room and before Reba even walked into it she could feel her heart breaking. The nurse walked over to Reba when she saw her waiting outside the door. "He's been requesting to see you ever since your mom called. You're the only reason that he's still here right now." Reba didn't know whether or not she should cry or smile, but instead she walked into the hospital room, and when she saw her father lying in the hospital bed she felt her heart break completely.

"Hi daddy." Reba said as she walked slowly up to his bed. Brock stayed in the doorway and watched his beautiful ex-wife walk up to her dying father, not wanting to take away the last moment that she would have with him.

"Just who I wanted to see." J.V. said with a soft smile. He was remarkable. Reba didn't know how he could be lying in the hospital knowing that he was going to go and smile. Reba slowly climbed up in his bed to lay with him.

Reba wrapped her arms around him gently and laid her head on his shoulder. "It's okay for you to let go now. I know that you're suffering and I don't want you to suffer anymore daddy." Reba said as she felt a tear fall down her face.

J.V. looked over at his daughter and smiled softly. "I needed to see you before I did. Honey, I want you to remember what I use to tell you when you were little."

Reba looked up at her father as they both said, "Cowgirls don't cry." Hearing her father say this made her smile, but she wasn't quite sure how she wasn't supposed to cry when her dad was about to pass away.

He then looked over to the doorway where Brock was. "Take good care of her, Brock." J.V. said as Brock looked over at him and nodded.

"I sure will." Brock said as J.V. shifted his attention to Reba again.

Reba looked over at her father and kissed his cheek. "I love you, carrot top." J.V. said as Reba fought every urge that she had to let the tears fall. Once she had told him that she loved him too, his eyes slowly started to close and the heart monitor made a long constant beep sound. Reba knew that this meant her father was gone and she couldn't help the tears that were now rolling down her face. Brock walked over to his girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her as she cried against Brock's chest.


End file.
